It was on last night on Channel 4. Ruby is known for mental health campaigns as she suffers from depression, she's founded The Black Dog Project. The programme last night on Channel 4 was aiming at getting people to speak out in their job about their mental health problems. She focused on three sucessful professionals with mental illness (OCD, depression and un-diagnosed but suffered a breakdown).

In theory I loved the idea of this show but as someone with mental health problems I hated watching it, I found a lot of the language she used was offensive such as "this is for people who are ill in the head". I also thought a lot of what she said was segregating "them" from "us". She states that mentally ill people are her people. I felt a bit like although she's trying to get people to speak out, she is creating a barrier, that there's normal people then there's mentally ill people. Did anyone else feel the same of am I too PC?

1 in 5 loses their job when their boss finds out about their mental illness??? Ouch. That really does fill me with so much hope about my employment prospects.

"For what she's been through in life, I'm surprised she's not out there with a knife" :/ Way to bring up the stereotype of a homicidal mentally ill person.

I think the "you're my people" bit was a little odd and a little like she is segregating people with mental illness from the general population. I have a mental illness, I don't see myself as one of her "people", I see myself as a normal person just like everyone else only I got a problem I'm trying to overcome.

I found it hard to relate to the whole Priory angle. That place looks amazing, a well stocked gym, some of the best psychiatrists in the country, all the great facilities then there was the ward I was on which had a coffee machine, a psychiatrist a couple of days a week and a single tv. I wish mental health care for the majority of people was anything near what she got but the reality is very different. Tbh, I'm not really sure what the whole purpose of those segments was.

The pattern they were showing was 'high flyer with mental health problems'. In reality most of those with mental health problems have a normal 9-5 job or for increasingly few, unemployment.

It made a nice change to show that there is hope for those out there, but I feel that this was largely due to the private sector focus and those with high achievements, not your average person with mental health problems within the NHS.

I guess it is nice to show people achieving a lot despite their mental health problems, but like Noodlzzz has said, it's not your average person.

What would be a better documentary, in my opinion, would be following "normal" mental health patients in the NHS, in their day to day life. Maybe if people not in the system could see how frustrating Mental Health Services could be (cancelled appointments, not being able to get hold of help when you need it, being turned away from help, how un-therapeutic hospitals really are, unhelpful (and maybe dangerous) advice), then maybe real change would start to happen in improving mental health services.

It is nice to see people doing well and to see mental illness in the public, but I just maybe wish that it showed what it is like for the majority with mental health problems.

I found it hard to relate to the whole Priory angle. That place looks amazing, a well stocked gym, some of the best psychiatrists in the country, all the great facilities then there was the ward I was on which had a coffee machine, a psychiatrist a couple of days a week and a single tv. I wish mental health care for the majority of people was anything near what she got but the reality is very different. Tbh, I'm not really sure what the whole purpose of those segments was.

I was in the Priory years ago for my eating disorder. I only went there because my parents had health insurance that paid for it. My parents are not rich. The Priory has a reputation for being 'exclusive' and this was the impression I had before I went in. Sure, it's nicer than an NHS hospital (I work in the NHS), but it's really not as grand or glamorous as its made out to be.

It was comfortable, but wasn't like some 5 star hotel. As an ED patient, I was locked into the ED unit and not allowed to use the gym, enjoy the garden or mix with patients from the rest of the hospital. The food was quite average, maybe a little better than the food in uni halls of residence. On the ED unit we could not have food/drinks whenever we felt like it, food was locked away. Only at set meal times/snack times. I did 'escape' the ED unit and go to the rest of the hospital, but it was hardly anything 'glam'. There were pantries with coffee, tea, bread and biscuits. The building looks nice in some parts, but it's not super luxe.

Best psychiatrists in the country? I liked my psychiatrist very much, he was nice to talk to. He was more knowledgeable than the NHS child psychiatrist I saw, but given the dire lack of understanding of that NHS psychiatrist, I think pretty much anyone would have done a better job. There are some excellent NHS psychiatrists though who are world leading experts and they do the important research and also do clinical work e.g. Prof Janet Treasure, Prof Ulrike Schmidt (sp?). The problem is that limited resources mean NHS provisions are rationed so unless you live in London or a large city, you may struggle to get help for an ED. A lot of leading medical experts actually do still work in the NHS.

However, my Priory psychiatrist was eventually struck off the medical register as the GMC found that he had taken advantage of a vulnerable patient (elderly lady with anorexia who had been a model/actress) and had left him a lot of money/property in her will.

Someone I know also saw a psychiatrist at the Priory (different psych) and said that he made her ED even worse and gave her the idea to make herself sick.

Maybe things are different at the Priory now? Both psychiatrists no longer work there.

(Original post by Sabertooth)
I found it hard to relate to the whole Priory angle. That place looks amazing, a well stocked gym, some of the best psychiatrists in the country, all the great facilities then there was the ward I was on which had a coffee machine, a psychiatrist a couple of days a week and a single tv. I wish mental health care for the majority of people was anything near what she got but the reality is very different. Tbh, I'm not really sure what the whole purpose of those segments was.

PS. Sure, the Priory is more comfortable than an NHS hospital generally, but comfortable environment does necessarily translate into effective/useful treatments/therapies.

What would be a better documentary, in my opinion, would be following "normal" mental health patients in the NHS, in their day to day life. Maybe if people not in the system could see how frustrating Mental Health Services could be (cancelled appointments, not being able to get hold of help when you need it, being turned away from help, how un-therapeutic hospitals really are, unhelpful (and maybe dangerous) advice), then maybe real change would start to happen in improving mental health services.

It is nice to see people doing well and to see mental illness in the public, but I just maybe wish that it showed what it is like for the majority with mental health problems.

That's how I feel anyway, but I could be overly bitter!

A friend of mine has anorexia and her BMI is under 16.5. The Maudsley (London) sent her a letter offering her a "crisis appointment" in 4 MONTHS time.

I don't know how she is coping. I couldn't function when my BMI was at that point.

(Original post by Simone.xox)
It was on last night on Channel 4. Ruby is known for mental health campaigns as she suffers from depression, she's founded The Black Dog Project. The programme last night on Channel 4 was aiming at getting people to speak out in their job about their mental health problems. She focused on three sucessful professionals with mental illness (OCD, depression and un-diagnosed but suffered a breakdown).

In theory I loved the idea of this show but as someone with mental health problems I hated watching it, I found a lot of the language she used was offensive such as "this is for people who are ill in the head". I also thought a lot of what she said was segregating "them" from "us". She states that mentally ill people are her people. I felt a bit like although she's trying to get people to speak out, she is creating a barrier, that there's normal people then there's mentally ill people. Did anyone else feel the same of am I too PC?

Honestly I totally agree with you... I know it was her programme but I thought it was all a bit 'me me me' in a showy-off kind of way.

I also found some of the language quite offensive, and a person who also suffers, it made me feel worse about myself. I turned it off eventually because it just irritated me so much. There was just so much, factually, that I disagreed with in the whole programme. I thought it was a very poor reflection of those with depression.

Hopefully the job interview one tonight at 10 will be good, I think that'll be more objective and relevant.

It was interesting, but I agree, not wholly accurate or representative of the majority of patients. I remember being particularly annoyed when she referred to "the bi-polar people" People suffer from bi-polar, they are not the bi-polar.

(Original post by Sabertooth)
1 in 5 loses their job when their boss finds out about their mental illness??? Ouch. That really does fill me with so much hope about my employment prospects.

The 1-in-5 figure is worrying :/ I mean, to a point I can understand it, but it seems unfair on those who have been ill in the past but are now stable and managing their condition effectively? If anyone saw "The World's Maddest Job Interview" there was a guy on there who had been sectioned for 4 months due to severe OCD, but was now fully functioning and coping well with his condition. Before the employers knew who he was, they agreed that they would immediately have dismissed his application after seeing that he had been sectioned

(Original post by Sabertooth)
I think the "you're my people" bit was a little odd and a little like she is segregating people with mental illness from the general population. I have a mental illness, I don't see myself as one of her "people", I see myself as a normal person just like everyone else only I got a problem I'm trying to overcome.

I also thought that was a bit strange. I don't see people with mental illness as being a segregated group within society I think the lady with OCD put it quite well when she said "these people are your doctor, your lawyer, your teacher..." etc. Mental illness is often so well hidden that it's impossible to differentiate those suffering from a mental illness from those who aren't.

(Original post by Sabertooth)
I found it hard to relate to the whole Priory angle. That place looks amazing, a well stocked gym, some of the best psychiatrists in the country, all the great facilities then there was the ward I was on which had a coffee machine, a psychiatrist a couple of days a week and a single tv. I wish mental health care for the majority of people was anything near what she got but the reality is very different. Tbh, I'm not really sure what the whole purpose of those segments was.

Mm, I agree. I didn't like the way she said that she and other patients would come and collect the left-overs from ED sufferers either I mean really, how irresponsible is that?! It would have been good if they'd shown an NHS ward for comparison, because like you say, they aren't half as glamorous looking

(Original post by Noodlzzz)
The pattern they were showing was 'high flyer with mental health problems'. In reality most of those with mental health problems have a normal 9-5 job or for increasingly few, unemployment.

It made a nice change to show that there is hope for those out there, but I feel that this was largely due to the private sector focus and those with high achievements, not your average person with mental health problems within the NHS.

There did seem to be a focus on people who took on too much, or who despite adversity were very successful, which isn't always the case at all. It really does bug me how mental illness is often blamed on people being under too much stress - a therapist gave me a book by a psychiatrist who said "Normally, in a psychiatric assessment, one is expected to make enquiries about aspects of the patients personality. I never bother, because it is nearly always the same."

Would have been interesting to see those who didn't have private healthcare or medical insurance, and how they coped with their mental illness.

(Original post by bullettheory)
I guess it is nice to show people achieving a lot despite their mental health problems, but like Noodlzzz has said, it's not your average person.

What would be a better documentary, in my opinion, would be following "normal" mental health patients in the NHS, in their day to day life. Maybe if people not in the system could see how frustrating Mental Health Services could be (cancelled appointments, not being able to get hold of help when you need it, being turned away from help, how un-therapeutic hospitals really are, unhelpful (and maybe dangerous) advice), then maybe real change would start to happen in improving mental health services.

It is nice to see people doing well and to see mental illness in the public, but I just maybe wish that it showed what it is like for the majority with mental health problems.

That's how I feel anyway, but I could be overly bitter!

I agree! It can be so frustrating trying to get help within the NHS sometimes. The reality of the matter is that you often have to be at breaking point before you get any proper help, which is totally wrong and not a long-term solution to help those with serious mental illnesses. People being asked to wait months for "emergency" appointments is so wrong, but sadly unless you know someone who's in the system, you don't have a clue how frustrating it can be.

There's also a massive issue with the general public's perceptions of mental illnesses. I know that when I was in hospital, my friends asked whether there was anyone screaming or banging their head against the wall It's amazing how ignorant the majority of people still are.

Mm, I agree. I didn't like the way she said that she and other patients would come and collect the left-overs from ED sufferers either I mean really, how irresponsible is that?! It would have been good if they'd shown an NHS ward for comparison, because like you say, they aren't half as glamorous looking .

I was at the Priory for ED and that did not happen when I was there. The ED patients were kept separate from all the other patients and we were locked in to the unit and would not have been able to take any food from the ED dining room, let alone out of the unit.

(Original post by Anonymous)
I was at the Priory for ED and that did not happen when I was there. The ED patients were kept separate from all the other patients and we were locked in to the unit and would not have been able to take any food from the ED dining room, let alone out of the unit.

From what you've said it sounds like it's changed a lot since she was there, which is good

I watched it thinking that it may given me an insight into letting the people I work with knowing about my mental issues but it didn't help at all. I was disappointed that she took 3 adults in high level positions. They are in a position that if people treated them differently they would be disiplined or they wouldn't have even thought about doing it because it could put their own jobs at risk.

I'm 19, and started a job in a pub a couple of months ago, and I don't feel as though I could do what they did at all. People would treat me different and baby me a bit, and maybe even lose a bit of respect, and I wouldn't be able to cope with the sympathetic looks of 'Oh, is she panicking? Is it too much for her?.

I'm glad she wants to shed light on mental health but she could have done it better like others have said.

I found myself shocked by some of things she said, such as laughing about eating the leftover food from the people with eating disorders. Also, the way she talked about the Priory was highlighting the fact it is a psychiatric hospital, but at the same time, the vast majority of patients would end up on an NHS ward, some of which are horrendous - I would have been more interested in a programme about that, rather than her experiences in the Priory. I did once have an assessment for Aspergers at the Southampton Priory, and from what I saw of it it was nice (the building etc, I don't know about how people were treated) but I have heard of other ones that are newer, and even nicer.
Also, the colleagues of the three people with mental health issues wouldn't have reacted any other way, because of the cameras. They should have gone back in a few months and talked to the employee again, to see if they had had anything negative from it.

(Original post by Simone.xox)
It was on last night on Channel 4. Ruby is known for mental health campaigns as she suffers from depression, she's founded The Black Dog Project. The programme last night on Channel 4 was aiming at getting people to speak out in their job about their mental health problems. She focused on three sucessful professionals with mental illness (OCD, depression and un-diagnosed but suffered a breakdown).

In theory I loved the idea of this show but as someone with mental health problems I hated watching it, I found a lot of the language she used was offensive such as "this is for people who are ill in the head". I also thought a lot of what she said was segregating "them" from "us". She states that mentally ill people are her people. I felt a bit like although she's trying to get people to speak out, she is creating a barrier, that there's normal people then there's mentally ill people. Did anyone else feel the same of am I too PC?

I didn't watch it, but I don't like Ruby Wax anyway, she really isn't that funny. In fact, she's the reason why I didn't watch the programme!

Other celebs - Demi Lovato and Frakie Sandford of The Saturdays - have come out better about this issue when publicising it.

(Original post by bytail)
It was interesting, but I agree, not wholly accurate or representative of the majority of patients. I remember being particularly annoyed when she referred to "the bi-polar people" People suffer from bi-polar, they are not the bi-polar.

A mental health illness is something someone has. It doesn't define a person and it doesn't define who they are.

(Original post by Rybee)
Hopefully the job interview one tonight at 10 will be good, I think that'll be more objective and relevant.

I saw this and thought it was much better than the ruby wax programme. I felt it did a lot more to break the stigma about mental illness, and really encouraged me about being able to live a successful life where i won't always be defined by illness.
Ruby Wax on the other hand made more of a barrier between those suffering and those who don't... I felt there needed to me more emphasis on the fact that people are actually normal, they just have extra stuff that they struggle with. They aren't any stupider, and the majority won't come at you with a knife (or at themselves). However, she did make it more lighthearted than the often serious and morbid perspective.
What I really want is to be able to live a normal life where people aren't going to judge me, treat me differently, talk about or to me differently or give me different opportunities, just because i've had a mental illness.
I also watched a programme by the comedian Jon Richardson called 'a little bit OCD' which i thought was really good. Really gave an insight into the difference between OCD tendencies and full blown OCD, and I thought he was sensitive about other people's issues.

(Original post by Nooshkabob)
I saw this and thought it was much better than the ruby wax programme. I felt it did a lot more to break the stigma about mental illness, and really encouraged me about being able to live a successful life where i won't always be defined by illness.
Ruby Wax on the other hand made more of a barrier between those suffering and those who don't... I felt there needed to me more emphasis on the fact that people are actually normal, they just have extra stuff that they struggle with. They aren't any stupider, and the majority won't come at you with a knife (or at themselves) However, she did make it more lighthearted than the often serious and morbid perspective.
What I really want is to be able to live a normal life where people aren't going to judge me, treat me differently, talk about or to me differently or give me different opportunities, just because i've had a mental illness.
I also watched a programme by the comedian Jon Richardson called 'a little but OCD' which i thought was really good. Really gave an insight into the difference between OCD tendencies and full blown OCD, and I thought he was sensitive about other people's issues.

The job interview one was better than Ruby Wax's programme, but it was irritating that no one on the panels appeared to make a distinction between a person who had a disorder at one point and someone who still has one that needs to be managed. They were all talking as though all mental illnesses were necessarily life-long, despite the fact that some of the participants seemed to have made fantastic recoveries.

I watched the Ruby wax programe, and just wonderd what peoples views where on mental health and the idea of using humour to promote it, i was trying to get to see the stand up Ruby did regarding mental health and wonderd what peoples thoughts where on this? Im aboout to begin a research project for uni on wether there is a place for humour in a theraputic capacity. Any feedback would be much appreciated

(Original post by Lordy85)
I watched the Ruby wax programe, and just wonderd what peoples views where on mental health and the idea of using humour to promote it, i was trying to get to see the stand up Ruby did regarding mental health and wonderd what peoples thoughts where on this? Im aboout to begin a research project for uni on wether there is a place for humour in a theraputic capacity. Any feedback would be much appreciated

As a person who has mental health issues, 100% no.

How can you do a stand up comedy about anxiety/depression? Where's the joke in that? If someone can tell me a joke relating to anxiety or depression I'll take my hat off and go back on my word.